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Jay
Neal to Lead Workshop for ACA Religion and Philosophy Faculty
The Appalachian College Association is sponsoring a workshop
for ACA religion and philosophy faculty on Macromedia's Flash program
at Cumberland College on May 30-June 1, 2002. Jay Neal, Director
of the duPont Instructional Technology Center at Ferrum College, will
lead the workshop.
The workshop will begin with an evening meeting on Thursday,
May 30 and run through noon on Saturday, June 1. Participants will
learn the basics of Flash in the context of using the program for teaching
in the liberal arts and religion/philosophy in particular. While
most of the workshop will be taken up with learning these basics, Dr.
Neal encourages participants to bring one relatively simple item such
as a class handout or map that can be animated using Flash and used by
the instructor immediately upon his or her return to campus.
The ACA will cover the costs of registration, food, and
lodging for participants while at the workshop. Travel costs will
be covered by the participants themselves. Participation will be
limited to the first twelve registrants from among ACA religion or philosophy
faculty. Other liberal arts faculty may sign up on a wait-listed
basis. The deadline for registration is April 15.
Interested faculty can sign up for the workshop by filling out the
form at
http://www.acaweb.org/Vcenter/Religion/registration_form_for_flash_workshop.asp.
Sign up soon!
The Virtual Karak Resources Project
is a cooperative venture of faculty at several ACA campuses who are interested
in the culture, geography, and history of Jordan. Led by Gerald
Mattingly of Johnson Bible College and
Dr. John Wineland of Kentucky Christian
College, the project features a multi-disciplinary approach to the
study of the region. The project is funded through the Appalachian
College Association.
The KRP is a regional project examining the Karak district of central
Jordan. In particular it examines past and present resources utilized
by the people of this region. It involves a multidisciplinary approach
in attempting to understand the cultural and political history of the
region, and to explore the current social and environmental status of
the region. The team includes researchers in anthropology, archaeology,
history, geology, soil science, archaeobotany, ceramic typology, hydrology,
and religion. Numerous articles have been published, and many conference
reports and papers, as well as informal presentations, have been made
by KRP members since 1995.
The web site includes a wealth of archaeological data related to this
important part of the Middle East, including maps and surveys of archaeological
technique. It includes a large photo gallery featuring various aspects
of this fascinating land, including snapshots of important archaeological
sites as well as scenes from daily life in modern Jordan. The site
also includes detailed historical analyses of a number of important ancient
sites in the region.
Working with Mattingly and Wineland on this project are Murl Dirksen,
Daniel Hoffman, Richard Jones, and Nathaniel Tucker from Lee
University, David Fiensy from Kentucky
Christian, Don Garner from Carson-Newman
College, and John Mark Wade from the Emmanuel
School of Religion.
Penchansky, David. What Rough Beast?
Images of God in the Hebrew Bible. Louisville: Westminster John Knox
Press, 1999. 123 pp.
In this short and very readable volume,
David Penchansky turns his always-sharp attention to selected characterizations
of God in the Hebrew Bible. Penchansky does not simply follow well-worn
theological paths, however. Rather, Penchansky here elects to focus on
six less familiar--some might even say obscure--biblical narratives that
portray a bizarre and frightening God. Penchansky's treatments include
"YHWH the Monster: The Insecure God (Genesis 3)," "Uzzah,
YHWH's Friend: The Irrational God (2 Samuel 6)," "The
Fatal Census: The Vindictive God (2 Samuel 24)," "Nadab
and Abihu, Martyrs: The Dangerous God (Leviticus 10)," "The
Bloody Bridegroom: The Malevolent God (Exodus 4:24-26)," and
"The Mad Prophet and the Abusive God (2 Kings 2:23-25)."
The chapter treating 2 Samuel 24 may be
the best of the bunch. Penchansky carefully, though briefly, considers
the ambiguities that bedevil this text: Why is God angry with Israel?
Why is a census sinful? But even better than Penchansky's literary acumen
is his frank handling of the theological dimensions of the text. In his
treatment of 2 Samuel 24, Penchansky confronts head-on the frightening
portrayal of God that this chapter presents. The God depicted in 2 Samuel
24 is a God so angry with Israel as to be willing to command Israel's
king to sin in order to provide a pretext for punishment. David is caught
on the horns of a dilemma: if he obeys God, he sins by taking the census;
if he disobeys God, he sins by not taking the census. Penchansky notes
the Chronicler's attempt to evade this difficulty in the parallel passage
by assigning responsibility to Satan, but 2 Samuel 24 itself resists any
such rewriting. Nor can the events of 2 Samuel 24 be construed as a test
in any way that is scrupulously faithful to the letter of the text. This
chapter of Israel's story leaves its readers with a dark and frightening
image of God, one that Penchansky helpfully unpacks in this essay.
The other chapters run along similar lines,
facing up squarely to the scary God who occasionally appears in the pages
of the Hebrew Bible. No doubt some readers will consider Penchansky's
treatment to be overly negative. Such a reaction should be tempered, however,
by a reminder of Penchansky's purpose. Penchansky does not offer this
volume as a comprehensive account of the portrayal of God in the
Hebrew Bible. In that sense, the subtitle of the book is slightly misleading.
Rather, this volume purports only to examine certain neglected, darker
aspects of that portrayal. Readers who wish to understand the Hebrew Bible
well, whether for critical or confessional reasons (or both), cannot afford
to neglect such texts. Penchansky provides an admirable treatment, such
that What Rough Beast deserves a place on the bookshelf alongside
such now-classic studies as James Crenshaw's Whirlpool of Torment
and Phyllis Trible's Texts of Terror.
Reviewer:
Christopher
Heard, Assistant Professor of Bible,
Milligan College. Dr. Heard is the author of Dynamics of
Diselection (Society of Biblical Literature, 2001).
The
religion and philosophy section of the
Virtual Center needs your ideas and contributions. You can help
by:
-
making suggestions regarding the types of materials
you would like to see on site
-
submitting materials for posting on one of the sections
of the site
-
send the site manager information about special events
on your campus related to the study of religion or philosophy (lectureships,
grants and awards, faculty publications)
-
submit links to be published on the webliography maintained
on the site
-
information for feature articles relevant to the stated
purposes of the site as listed below.
You can submit materials for the
Religion and Philosophy Virtual Center by emailing
the editor to submit materials.
The Virtual Center, sponsored by the
Appalachian College Association, is a set of webs designed to serve
as teaching tools for faculty in the various ACA colleges and universities.
The purposes
of the religion and philosophy section of the
Virtual Center are:
The editor of Raphael is R.
Garland Young, Professor of Religion at Cumberland
College, 7887 College Station Drive, Williamsburg, KY 40769
Office -- 606-539-4465
Copyright
2002, The Appalachian College Association (ACA)
All rights reserved
Last updated:
May 21, 2002
by RGY
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